The Effectiveness of a short time Self-Compassion Intervention Program on Positive and Negative Affect and Life Satisfaction

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of short-term self-compassion training programs on positive and negative affect and life satisfaction. The research design was a quasi-experimental pretest and posttest with a control group. The studychr('39')s statistical population consisted of all students of the University of Tabriz, from which 40 people were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned into two experimental and control groups (20 subjects in each group). The instruments of the study were the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988), Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diner et al, 1985), and the Self-Compassion Questionnaire(Neff, 2003). The intervention group received the compassion training course in 5 sessions of 90-minute weekly sessions and the control group did not receive any intervention. The results of multiple analyses of covariance showed that there was a significant difference between the scores of self-compassion, positive affect, and negative affect of the experimental and control groups in the post-test stage (P≤0.001). The experimental group received higher self-compassion and positive affect scores and lower scores in negative affect compared to the control group in the post-test phase. Based on the findings of this study, self-compassion training can be a good option to increase self-compassion and positive affect and reduce negative affect.